In a huge, huge step forward for gender equality, Saudi Arabia‘s King Salman has issued a decree allowing women to drive for the first time.
The Saudi Press Agency says that government ministries are preparing reports within 30 days, and the order will be implemented by June 2018.
“The royal decree will implement the provisions of traffic regulations, including the issuance of driving licences for men and women alike,” it said.
Saudi Arabia is the last country in the world where women are forbidding from driving. Rights groups have been campaigning for years for women to be allowed to drive.
Saudi activist Loujain Alhathloul (Arabic name: لجين الهذلول), who was arrested and detained for 73 days for defying the law in 2014, tweeted “Praise be to Allah” following the announcement.
الحمدلله.
— لجين هذلول الهذلول (@LoujainHathloul) September 26, 2017
The country’s U.S. ambassador, Prince Khaled bin Salman, said it was “an historic and big day” and “the right decision at the right time”.
“We are trying to increase women’s participation in the workforce. In order to change women’s participation in the workforce we need them to be able to drive to work,” he said.
According to BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner, the reason it has taken so long for the law to change is opposition from religious conservatives, who expressed views like women are “too stupid to drive” and that a change in law would “lead to intolerable mingling of the sexes.”
Saudi Arabian women are one of the most oppressed groups in the world. They are forced to adhere to strict dress codes, cannot associated with unrelated men, and either be accompanied by a male guardian or receive written permission from one if they want to travel, work or access healthcare.
However, there has been some easing of restrictions over the past few years. In 2015, women were elected to municipal councils for the first time, and more women have been allowed to work in the fields of law and education.
“Let me tell you about our leadership’s view on women,” Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah told a TV channel in May this year. “Never mind driving a car, which is coming, no doubt… I want her to drive society.”
https://twitter.com/manal_alsharif/status/912769533911240704
